


Unexpected

by Femalefonzie



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drinking to Cope, F/F, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Poe Dameron Being a Little Shit, Recreational Drug Use, Rey is Luke's daughter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-05-11 02:04:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5609686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Femalefonzie/pseuds/Femalefonzie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leia Organa-Solo always wanted to be a grandmother, she just never expected it to happen like this...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

By this point in his life, Ben believed that it would have been completely different. He had dreams when he had been a child, of joining the army and becoming a great war hero like his grandfather; Anakin Skywalker, who served in Vietnam. Everyone wants to be a hero, but unfortunately not everyone could become one. When he was finally old enough to enlist, Ben was rejected from the army for complicated health problems. He had a bad heart, something he inherited from his father's side of the family, and it crushed the career he had been planning for. 

His father, who had been involved with the military for a number of years before being honorably discharged, was rather disappointed but there was nothing more that could be done. He was just having trouble accepting Ben's limitations. His mother, on the other hand, was pushing him to enroll in university now that he was trying to find something else he would want to do for the rest of his life. She had friends at the local university, do getting accepted would be a breeze, but Ben wasn't sure if that was what he wanted to do. 

He ended up getting a job bar tending at a club his friend Phasma worked at. It wasn't anything special, just some gay club that opened a few months back, and the pay was nice enough. As were the tips. It helped when you were around drunk singles, and had a quote " _Wonderful ass_ ". The job may not have been one he thought about before, but it was enough to keep him living somewhat comfortably. He ended up moving into an apartment a couple blocks from work, and rooming with a man who had enrolled in the police academy and worked part time at the grocery store a few blocks away. Poe Dameron, nice enough guy, but his school and job had him coming and going at all hours of the night. That, and he was close knit friends with Ben's cousin Rey, of whom he had not spoken to since their grandfather's funeral, and who he had no desire to speak with any time soon. 

He was working the late night shift at the club, last call and cleaning, when he met his first regular. The man didn't look like he belonged. He was younger than a lot of the others who frequented the establishment, and didn't dress like he was going clubbing. Every time he came in he was dressed in slick black trousers, a fitted white shirt, a tie and a long black jacket. His hair, a light and almost mango colored red, was always gelled back  and perfectly in place. The man would come in alone, sat at the bar, and order regular bottles of beer (anywhere from one to four depending on the night), pay and then leave without saying a word other than to order. This went on for a couple of weeks, before he finally said something else. 

Ben had been working that night, under the name of Kylo Ren. Phasma advised him not to use his real name around costumes, just to be safe. It was like how strippers used stage names. He had been cleaning a couple of glasses brought back, when the man came in right on time and sat down. He ordered his usual, and Ben/Kylo grabbed him a bottle and slid it down to him. The man frowned, examining the label. 

"This isn't the usual kind I receive," He stated, his accent becoming more clear now. He was English, and given his appearance Kylo would assume that he was here on business. "Was there some kind of change?"

"No," Kylo replied. "That just happens to be the case we have open right now. There's one of the usual in back."

"In that case," The man said, and slid the bottle back down the counter. "I will return this and take one of those."

Kylo snorted, "I'm not opening a case of beer, when there's one that's not even halfway empty. There's no difference." He slid the bottle back down to the man. "Enjoy." 

The man frowned, and slid it right back. "I will not. May I remind you that I am the customer here? I want my usual and not this watered down crap." 

Maybe it was because Kylo only had around 4 hours of sleep last night (Poe had brought his boyfriend over and the walls in the apartment were thin) and maybe it was because his car broke down a couple of nights ago and he had to carpool with Phasma while he waited for repairs, but forever whatever reason, Kylo slid the bottle back down to the man with more force than necessary. It went flying past the other man, off the end of the end of the counter and shattered. 

The man watched it with amusement, "Well then. Someone's having a rough day, hmm?" 

Kylo gritted his teeth together, "I think you've had enough tonight...-"

"I didn't even get my first drink." 

Kylo hissed angrily and was about to tell the man where he could shove his bottle, when a thunderous cry of his alias alerted him of his boss' presence. Kylo excused himself, and headed into the office to see what he wanted. Mr. Hutt was disgusting, and Kylo was just glad that he spent most of his time locked up in the office where he didn't have to look at him. The man was at least 400 pounds, and every time Kylo had the disappointment of speaking with him, he was shoving food in his mouth. There was a wide variety of stains covering his shirt, everything from jam to gravy to what looked like strawberry ice cream. Kylo stuffed his hands into his pockets, and looked down at his sneakers, "You wanted to speak with me, sir?"

Hurt shoved a large hamburger into his mouth, before speaking. "I saw what you did there, _Ren_ , do you think beer is cheap?" He asked, spewing chewed up meat and bun in the younger male's direction. Kylo paled, and tried not to vomit. 

"No sir, I just-"

"That was your third infraction, Ren. First there was you not showing up for your shift last Thursday and leaving us shorthanded-"

"My car broke down. I had to go to the garage-"

"Then there was you suddenly thinking that it was okay to tell off a customer-" 

"Sir, he had consumed almost an entire case of beer. I couldn't just let him drink mo-"

Hutt slammed his fat, meaty hands on his desk. "Now you're wasting my beer! Damn it Ren! You're fired!"

Fuck. Kylo sighed and rubbed his forehead. At least he wouldn't have to deal with the ginger bastard anymore. He turned to leave, and gather his things from his locker. 

"Wait a moment," Hutt called after him and Kylo froze. What did he want now? For him to pay for the beer he just broke? "Kylo, I am a reasonable man...I'm sure there's something that can be arranged so you...are still on staff here."

...

Kylo hated his life. He really did. He groaned, and chose not to spend the night in prison for beating his former employer senseless. He stormed outside, and found Phasma cleaning some tables near the back. 

"I'll be waiting outside for you to take me home." He said, and headed to the lockers to grab his stuff. On the way, he looked back at the bar to see what the man was up to and if he had any ide of what had just gone down. He was just sitting there, nursing a the bottle of beer he had demanded. Kylo shot him a glare, though it went unnoticed, and made the wise choice not to rip the man's head off. He couldn't afford a night in a holding cell. 

It was bitterly cold outside, a sign of the changing seasons. Kylo, or he supposed that he should go by Ben permanently now since there was no need to use his alias, shivered and pulled a pair of gloves out from his backpack and pulled them on. He ended up waiting for his friend in the back alley, out of the way and where Hutt wouldn't find him if he came looking. He leaned against the wall, waiting and listening to the cars that drove by. 

Something rattled in a garbage bin a couple of feet away, and Ben looked over curiously. The place was a dead end, nothing more than a couple garbage bins for the club and the establishment next door. He walked over cautiously, but his curiousity got the better of him. He took off the lid, And looked inside to see what was making the noise. What he saw wasn't what he expected. 

Swaddled in a light green blanket, and whimpering pitifully, was a tiny, pale baby. It couldn't have been more than a few days old, and though Ben has little to no experience with babies, he cousin tell this one was ill. It's eyes were bruised and swollen shut, something that Ben would expect from the parents who would leave their child in a dumpster. He didn't waste anytime scooping the poor child up, and cradling it against his chest. 

When Phasma arrived, they were going to have to make a quick trip to the hospital, and then the police station before going home. 

It briefly occurred to Ben that if he hadn't been fired jus then, the child may have froze to death in the bin when the temperature dropped. He found it funny how the world worked. A bad day for him just saved this poor thing from certain doom.


	2. Chapter 2

Ben had never been fond of hospitals. Being the adventurous child he was, coupled with all of the health problems he inherited from his father, meant he spent a lot of time in the ER getting his bones snapped back into place or having parts of him checked out. All those strangers in white coats poking around at him like he was some kind of animal...it was unsettling. When he started rooming with Poe Dameron, Ben found himself handling most of his medical issues himself, and only ventured into clinics if absolutely necessary.

This time it was absolutely necessary. 

The baby kept whimpering, and had yet to open its eyes. He didn't even know if it _could_ open its eyes. The fact it wasn't crying was putting Ben further on edge. Babies were supposed to cry, they were supposed to scream like little hellions, not just whimper and whine, especially given the child's situation. All he could do was hope it was because the child was quiet.

Phasma ventured outside looking for him a couple minutes after her shift ended. She always changed quickly after work in the staff washroom. A habit of hers that proved rather inconvenient at the current moment. Ben could hear her coming before he actually saw her. Phasma always wore these clunky, old boots that would thud wherever she went. She rounded the corner, head down as she rooted through her bag for her car keys, and said, "I can't believe you got fired. Hutt is a moron. How could he fire you like-" She looked up when she felt the familiar cold metal of her keys brush against her fingers and locked eyes with her friend. "...What the hell?...Where did you get a baby?!"

"Garbage." Ben stated simply, rocking the aforementioned creature gently. "We have to get it to the hospital, make sure it's not...not..." He didn't want to say clinging to life, or on the verge of death. The baby was just so small in his arms, so fragile looking...he couldn't accept it not having a chance. 

An ugly scowl appeared on his friend's face at the mention of the garbage. Such abandonment was simply cruel to this tiny human being who had depended on the person who left it. Not only had they left them for dead, they placed them deliberately in the garbage for disposal. They tossed their cold aside like trash. It _was_ trash to them, otherwise they wouldn't have just dumped them here. Phasma gestured for him to follow her back to the car and wasted no time in their commute to the nearest ER. Ben, with no other option or desire to do otherwise, kept holding the child while she swerved in and out of lanes. How Phasma had ever gotten her license, Ben would never know. 

The car provided better lighting for him to further inspect the infant. Aside from the swelling around it's eyes, there appeared to be no other damage. No cuts, bug or rodent bites, which would be a concern after spending an indefinite amount of time in a garbage bin. The child was blond, with little curls that had been nearly invisible in the alley. Aside from the blanket, they were clothes in a cheap red onesie and diaper, but there was nothing else with them. They had been left with only a blanket and the clothes on their back. 

This time of the night was nearly dead quiet for the hospital except for when the ocassional car accident occurred or someone went into labour. Only a couple of nurses were present in the ER when they arrived, and swarmed to Ben and Phasma's sides. They immediately started firing questions, stuff like whether they were the child's parents, if it had stopped breathing at any point during its time in Ben's care, any other wounds that they had noticed, stuff like that. Once they had the information they needed, the gaggle of nurses took the infant into one of the rooms for examination, and told them both to wait outside for it and for a police officer to arrive for questioning. 

The officer, a newly graduated officer with a baby-ish face and dark stubble, asked generally the same questions as the nurses with a few exceptions. Did you see anyone leaving the area, was there anything that seemed out of place, etc. After he finished the officer called in to see if anyone has reported a missing child and for further instructions from his superiors. 

There wouldn't be a missing persons report, Ben thought, not now and maybe not ever. The child had not simply been misplaced, they had been tossed aside. His theory was confirmed when he overheard the officer's superior say so herself. No missing children, no missing babies.  

It took the nurses only two hours to throughly examine and double check the baby for all possible injuries, trauma, bites or illnesses. They explained that while the child had been sufficiently cold when they brought him in (the infant was a small boy, approximately a week old, they told Ben) he did not have any frost bite or even signs of a common cold. They only issue he had were his eyes. 

"They will heal on their own," One of the more senior nurses tried to explain, and to Ben's surprise, handed the boy back to him instead of to the officer handling his case. "There appears to be no damage other than the swelling but when that goes down it would be wise to double check." 

"What makes you think I'll be in possession of the child?" Ben asked, and turned to the officer. "Where...I mean...you're going to take him right?" 

"Child services are already closed. Won't be open again until Monday and we already did a background check on you and miss Phasma there when the call came in. In all honesty, he's better with either of you then with us. He'd end up going horn with an officer anyway until he could be put in a foster home-" 

Phasma grabbed onto Ben's shoulder and squeezed it tightly. He knew what that meant. She herself had been in and out of foster care since her father's death. Phasma knew what the system in this town was like and she told Ben what the system in this town was like. It wasn't a place people would be willing to send children of there was any other option. But Phasma worked every night and it wasn't like he could-

At that moment, the boy yawned and nuzzled into Ben's chest, using him as a pillow. He felt so soft, so warm, and despite his best efforts Ben felt his heart melting. 

"I'll look after him." He said slowly, trying to keep his voice from braking. He didn't know how now that he had no job and no car, but he would. "But...I want to know when the police get to the bottom of this case. When they find his parents." He wanted to punch both of them in the face. 

"Do you mean," Phasma asked and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Are you adopting him?" 

Ben shrugged, "We'll see." If he could find a way to provide that didn't involve becoming a full on prostitue, maybe...

"He needs a name." 

"What?" Ben asked.

"He needs a name." Phasma repeated, looking over her friend's shoulder at the sleeping boy. "He has one but we don't know it. If you're going to be looking after him you need something to call him by." 

Anakin was the obvious choice. It popped into Ben's head after mere seconds. But it seemed too obvious, and should the child remain in his care, Ben didn't want anyone comparing the baby to his grandfather and saying he didn't live up to the standards set by Anakin. He knew what felt like. After a few minutes of mulling it over, Ben smiled and said, "Alfred."

Phasma scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Alfred?"

"He looks like an Alfred," Ben argued. "Alfred Anakin Solo." 

The younger woman rolled her eyes at him, then a devious smile spread across her smug little face. "You know," She said. "You have to tell your mom and dad about this right?"

...

"Shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why it keeps saying my fics are done. They're not. I'm not ending this like this when there's so much more to be explored. Thank you for commenting and saying it was posted as being over with, or else I may not have noticed.


	3. Chapter 3

Han had left sometime after lunch to help his friend Chewie with some minor renovations to his home after his son thought it would be a fun idea to set off fireworks inside his bedroom. Leia hand laughed upon hearing that, remembering a time when their own son had tried something simile with bottle rockets back when he was still in elementary school. He'd successfully taken a large chunk of the wall out, as well as burnt the tips of his fingers so badly that it required a trip to the ER, but it was still a treasured memory. Back before Ben hit puberty and became the moodiest creature ever to grace the face of the planet.

Ben now...Ben now was different. He still was frequent to mood swings but they were more controlled, most of the time he was able to control his rage or sadness, before returning to his room. Leia worried about this Ben more than she ever worried about teenage, "it's-not-a-phase-mom-it's-who-I-am" Ben. This Ben lived without purpose, like a lost soul wandering the underworld in purgatory, waiting for something that would not come. He worked horrible jobs, lived in a part of town that made he made her nervous, and worse yet he seemed to be completely alone. Phasma, Poe, anyone was within his social circle now, didn't know Ben. They knew the guy who worked at a gay bar, had a bad heart and a temper, and who used too much axe in the morning. They knew Kylo Ren, they didn't know Ben. And that was what he really needed right now. 

She was by herself most of the day, not that she minded. Leia got more done when she was alone. A friend had recommended this wonderful book on the politics of Ancient Rome and she had almost gotten to the downfall of Nero when the phone rang. She sighed, knowing that Han had probably been showboating and broke something (again) and this was the hospital calling to say he was annoying the nurses. She snatched up the receiver, and before listening to see who it was, said. "Han, they're just doing their job. Let them-"

"Mom?"

"Ben?" Speak of the devil.... "Ben, what's wrong? You don't call unless you're in trouble. What did you do? Were you arrested again?"

There was a pause on the other end, followed by a hushed whisper. "I wasn't arrested. No charges were laid. They just...picked me up."

"Yes. That's called being arrested."

"I have not been arrested!" Ben insisted, "Look, I'm at the hospital and...its just been a long day. I'm calling to give you an update."

Update? That was Ben's code for doing something stupid or wrong or illegal and trying to act as low key about it as possible. Leia knew Ben enough to know it wasn't something serious. Another fight, public indecency, drug possession, something like that. And he-

"Hospital?" She repeated. "Why are you at the hospital?" Ben wasn't hurt. If Ben had been hurt, a nurse would be making this call, not her son. Ben never called if he got hurt. He didn't call home when he got in a car accident at 15, he didn't call home when he O.D.ed at a friend's party and nearly died at 17, and he didn't call home when he fell down a flight of stairs at the apartment complex and suffered a concussion. Everytime Ben got hurt, the hospital called. Ben never called from the hospital. 

"I got fired."

"You fought a costumer didn't you?" 

"No. Well kinda but that's not why I'm here. I, uh, I found a baby outside the club. Abandoned, I didn't just run up to someone and still their baby...and so...now I have a baby." There was a long pause on both end of the phone, as Leia tried to take all of the information in. "So I was wondering if you still had any old baby stuff that I could have? Like a crib, or something..."

"They," Leia said slowly so there was no way she could be mistaken. "Let you have a baby? An infant human?"

"I named him Alfred. He's a cute little guy-"

"Ben I don't think you're hearing me. You're keeping a baby-"

"Blond hair and green eyes. Really cute. Sweet too. I think you'll like him-"

"Ben-"

"So anyway, I'll be over shortly to get some baby stuff. Thanks mom, bye." 

"Benjamin Lucas Solo-" _Click_.

He hung up. He hung up on her. Leia sighed loudly, and rubbed her temples. Ben was going to be the death of her. He was so unpredictable and reckless...she was surprised she and Han hadn't died of double heart attacks yet. If Ben showed up here with a baby and Han wasn't warned in advance, he would go into cardiac arrest, so there was still hope for Ben sending his parents to an early grave. She dialed the number for Chewie's house, not wanting to plan out a funeral for her husband ontop of this nonsense. 


	4. Chapter 4

Alfred wriggled in Ben's arms a bit, and pressed his head against Ben's chest. The dark haired man looked down at him curiously, then over at Phasma. "Why do you think he does this?" He asked. 

"Heartbeat," Phasma explained, not taking her eyes off the road. Back in high school, she took child development class for an easy credit. From what she told Ben at lunch every day for a semester it was a relatively interesting class. The only put off was the child birth video shown at least once a year. Ben didn't have the strength for it. "Babies find comfort listening to heartbeat of their parents."

Parents? It was strange that the word could be applied to him. Yesterday he was just some bartender with a great ass, now he was someone's dad. He had to provide not just for himself but for this tiny human. Alfred was depending on him for support. He was alone in the world, with nothing, and Ben would do whatever he could to build a stable life for the child. He was going to have to a find a job. 

...If he couldn't find a decent enough offer, Ben would go crawling back to Hutt and see what deals he had to offer. Ben shuddered at the thought, and a memory of his cousin once playfully calling him a whore drifted into his mind. He had been 16, and stuck in a love triangle between two brothers who were ready to fight over him. Rey had laughed when she heard, called him a whore, and said there was nothing wrong with being a bit of a slut. At the time Ben had wished he was dead, and no he longed to return to the day anyone was fighting to be with him. 

His father's car wasn't in the driveway but his mother was waiting on the front porch for them. When she saw Phasma pull up, she got up and rushed over to them. Ben stepped up slowly, and Alfred took the chance to yawn loudly. Leia froze, her hands covering her mouth. Ben smiled a little, "Mom this is Alfred. Your grandson."

It was a real baby...part of Leia had believed that Ben had another bad drug trip and was hallucinating...but there was a real infant in his arms. And he was beautiful.

"His eyes Ben..." 

"The doctors said they'll heal. They don't know what could have caused it." Ben explained, "I don't think his parents hit him. If they hit him hard enough to cause the swelling, then wouldn't they have had enough force to crush his skull? It may be an allergic reaction or something...I want to get him checked for allergies when he gets older." 

He didn't know where this was coming from...he was already making plans for Alfred's future. He could scout out some pre-schools later, see which ones were the best for his son. _His son_ deserved the best and Ben would give it to him. 

"Ben are you sure you...are you sure that you are ready for this honey?" 

"Were you and dad ready for me?" Ben did the math years ago. He knew that his mom had been working on her degree when she got pregnant with him. It had been an inconvient time, but somehow they made it work. Kind of. It could be argued that Ben wasn't exactly the personification of the result of great parenting. "I'll make it work. I'm going to search for a decent job, maybe we'll move out from the apartment with Poe when he starts to walk, get a house...I can make it work." 

If there was any chance of Leia convincing her son to give university a chance, it wasn't going to be anytime soon. He was going to have to try and find something else that worked for him, and made him happy. Alfred seemed to be making his mood increase...this could be what Ben needed. Everyone always talked about people using babies to solve their problems but... 

Another car pulled into the driveway and Han Solo leapt from the vehicle. If Cheiwe wasn't so used to his friend's erratic behavior, the car may have crashed into the house. The other man simply sighed, scooted into the driver's seat, and parked the car. Han Solo was going to get him killed one day. 

"BEN!" Han shouted, running towards his family. "BEN!"

The man in question, sighed, and handed Alfred to his mother for safety purposes. "Hello father."

Han stopped midstep when Alfred let out a loud wail. Leia cooed softly to the boy, rocked him gently, but it didn't work. Ben took him back, and kissed the top of his blond little head, and the crying stopped. He was a daddy's boy, even though a few hours ago he didn't even have a real daddy. 

Han remained frozen. "It's a real baby."

"Yes."

"...And it's not a child you've kidnapped and are holding for ransom?" 

"The real money is in prostitution." Ben replied sarcastically. "It's not a kidnapped child. He was abandoned, I found him, and I saved him from going to a foster home. Once the social worker's office opens Monday, I'm going to go to the child services and sign the papers."

"You got no job and you live with a roommate who...I actually have nothing against Poe. That guy is like a walking beam of sunshine...but Benny I don't think-"

"Don't call me Benny." Han hadn't called his son that since he was a little boy and they weren't at each other's throats almost every living moment. 

" _Ben_ , I don't think you're ready for this. I mean...it's hard to be a parent, even harder to be a single parent. And the only job you were ever happy at and did good work at was selling weed with those twins in high school!" 

Leia frowned, "He was arrested Han." 

"No he wasn't. He was picked up that's different. I was picked up a bunch of times when I was a teenager." 

Still frowning, Leia made a mental note to google the difference between arrest and getting picked up after Alfred and Ben went back to the apartment. There was no way they were right. "Don't remind me."

"By the way dad, who was my best client when I was dealing?"

Leia scowled and punched her husband in the shoulder, "HAN!"

"I was supporting our son. Isn't that what you're supposed to do? Besides Chewie used most of what I bought-"

Ben rolled his eyes. This family was utter ridiculous, it was a miracle he made to adulthood. "Look it doesn't matter anymore," He interjected before his father could throw his best friend even further under the bus or more of the neighbors could come out and watch the Organa-Solo family at its best. It was a wonder they hadn't been offered a reality TV contract yet. "I'm not dealing anymore. I want to go completely straight. No more sleazy jobs and bosses, no more crappy apartments, no more dealing. I...I don't know how to explain it but I feel contested with this baby, like I was supposed to find him, I was supposed to be his father. And I want to be. I'm going to find a respectable job, and start providing, I swear." 

Call him crazy, but Han believed him. The way Ben was looking down at Alfred, the way Alfred in turn depended on Ben...It used to be how Ben and Han looked at each other. The elder man sighed, but managed a smile. "You're lucky I never got around to throwing out all the old baby stuff." He said, "Tell your fem-bot friend to get out of the car and help me get it down from the attic for ya." 

Phasma had always seemed cold to Han. Cold, mechanical, like a robot...

Maybe she couldn't get him into university as a student, but Leia may just be able to get Ben into university as staff...

"Of you want a better paying job, there's a professor at the university looking for a new assistant. Head of the criminology department and a history buff, the kind of guy you would like. He's helping this other professed settle in too, a young man who is actually a certified genius. Graduated from college when he was just 14..." She stopped, realizing she was ranting. "Anyway, he's helping the young man settle into university life so you'd be working with both closely. But the pay is almost 2000 a week." 

"Son of a bitch...mom why didn't you tell me sooner?!" That kinda job, Alfred would grow up getting everything he could ever need...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hux is coming people. Poor Hux needs to get here sooner.


	5. Chapter 5

When Ben finally got back to the apartment, it was way past nine and Alfred had long since fallen asleep. For the sake of space, Ben had slipped him into a little baby carrier he had uncovered in the remnants of his old baby stuff, and carried him that way up the stairs to his floor while carrying the crib his mother had unearthed for him in his hands. Alfred had his ear pressed against Ben's breast, and had whined whenever Ben tried to move him. He had been alone for so long, he was scared of being alone again.

Muffled music coming from behind his door alerted Ben that not only Poe was home, but his friends probably were too. At least this meant he need not worry about juggling the baby and the crib so he could get the door. "Poe!" He called in. "Poe my hands are full come get the door!"

The music stopped and there was a flurry of muffled voices. Poe's, Finn's, and another female voice that sounded harsher. Even through the thickness of the door, Ben knew that voice anywhere. Finally the door creaked open, and a disshelved looking Poe Dameron stood there in an oversized Rollin Stones T-shirt and blue boxer shorts. He looked down at the baby, then up at his roommate's face, then down at the baby again.

"I knew you were getting kinda puffy looking but I thought it was just the stress-"

"Moron," Ben muttered, and pushed past his roommate. It had been a long day. All he wanted was to put Alfred to bed, then fall asleep himself. His mother had promised to pull strings, to get him in for an interview sometime and he was just feeling burnt out. He looked into the living room, and saw that Finn and Rey were in the middle of a round of Just Dance 2015 that looked to be getting quite competitive. "I live with pre-teens." He mumbled to himself, and headed straight to his room.

The apartment was two rooms, nothing fancy, but well kept and there was hardly ever any problems with heat or water. It would do for now, but when Alfred got older and needed his own room, it simply wouldn't work. With the sleeping baby still strapped in, Ben set to work of assembling the crib, placing some clean sheets and blankets in, and getting it ready for permanent use. As he went through a box of old blankets, Ben found something he believed to have once lost.

It was a bear, small and old, with one of its eyes missing and its once soft brown fur matted and sticky with ice cream from 19 summers ago. His grandfather had given him that bear, and for the first few years of his life, it had been his best and only friend. Ben smiled, and didn't feel forced to do such, and placed it inside the crib for when Alfred needed him. He had the crib across from his bed, so he could be there in a second if Alfred needed him, and kissed the top of his head before taking him out of his carrier and placing him down in the crib. Alfred whimpered a bit, but stopped when Ben brought a small blanket over him for warmth in the night.

"I promise, you're never going to be alone." He told him. "Even if it seems like I'm not there with you, I will be. Forever." He knew what it was like to have no one backing you up, standing by you no matter what, being just...completely alone. Alfred wasn't going to be alone anymore.

He went to bed, and for once didn't dread waking up the next morning.

* * *

18 years ago

Ben had been attending a children's group while his parents worked during the day on the summer. It had been Han's idea to take him there, instead of letting him go to Uncle Luke's or Grandpa's during the day. By this age Ben should have at least had one friend, or someone he played with often. But he had none. He just...read all the time or played with his stuffed animals. It wasn't a bad thing, necessarily, but Han hated seeing his kid just sitting there alone while the others were playing and having fun. He hoped by sending Ben here, he could make at least one friend. Just so he wouldn't be alone.

It was pure torture. Ben was a cute kid but there were aspects to him that were easy to make fun of. His ears were a bit bigger than the others, he had a variety of freckles and moles coating his body, his eyes were an unusually dark color and his hair was a lot longer than the other boys'. At five years old, he already knew what it felt like to be called ugly. At just five years old, he believed he was ugly, regardless of what his parents told him. He would be dropped off and within at least twenty minutes the teasing would begin. It depended on how soon their supervisors turned their backs on the children.

Ben watched his father drive off everyday, and would sit there waiting for him to come back until the other kids slowly but surely swarmed over to him. One day, something happened to change that. While he was sitting waiting for someone to come over and call him a "girly-boy", a car Ben had never seen before pulled in. He watched curiously, as a woman got out, along with a small boy, who clung to her leg desperately. The action was familiar with Ben, he had done it for the couple days he had been attending this horror show. This child, though never having shown his face around here before, knew he was in for a rough time.

Ben watched them enter, and the woman he assumed was the other boy's mother speak with one of the supervisors. The other boy was attempting to hide behind his mother's leg now, as the other children slowly began closing in for the kill. The woman managed to pry her son off of her, said her goodbyes, and left him there in hell on earth. Ben kept quiet, didn't say a word in fear the wrath of the other children would be redirected towards him. For once in the weeks he had been coming here, Ben was able to play with the Legos in peace with no one coming to destroy whatever he had created.

Interest was lost in the new boy shortly after his arrival. Ben had been smart though, had prepared for this outcome. He had taken the Legos to a small space between the bookcase and one of the couches were he would be hard to find. When the others came looking for him, he was hidden in the dark shadows of the bookcase. He started to work on a neat little house, practical house, and move some of the little Lego people inside, when he noticed the area he was holding up in had gotten darker. He looked up, and saw the new boy looking down at him from the back of the couch.

"Why are you back there?" He asked.

"Hiding." Ben replied simply. "Go away."

The boy pointed at the Legos. "I want to play."

Ben frowned up at him. "I got here first."

The boy didn't seem to understand that Ben wanted him to leave him alone, because he swung his legs over the back of the couch and dropped down into the space, nearly crushing Ben's Lego house. He picked up one of the Lego people, an astronaut one, and placed him on the roof.

"Now he can see space."

"Go away." Ben told the new boy, and plucked the astronaut back up, and placed him aside. "I'm playing."

The boy put the astronaut back on the roof, and this time placed a ninja Lego person beside him. "There. Now he has a friend."

"There are no ninjas in space." Ben told him, and put the ninja back inside the house were he had left him. "Why are you still here?"

"You seems lonely," the boy said. "Like the astronaut, so I'm here to fix it." He put the ninja back on the roof.

"I am not lonely." Ben snapped, and swatted both Lego people off the roof. They went flying, and disappeared under the couch, and out of reach. He expected the other boy to whine, or to go tattling to one of the supervisors about how Ben wasn't playing nicely, but the boy surprised him. He looked under the couch, and then back at Ben.

"You're only hurting yourself by doing that." He told Ben, in a know-it-all-style voice. "Now you don't have them to play with. You just have the regular Legos, the ones that aren't special."

Generic Lego people, boring and unoriginal, with the same basic design. The ninja and the astronaut were the only ones that were different and they were now out of Ben's reach forever. His eyes started to water, though he tried to suppress his urge to cry. The other boy studied him curiously, but said nothing. He grabbed a couple of Legos from the box, and started building something. A long Lego sword perhaps? When the other kids played with them, Ben noticed they liked to make swords and hit each other over the head with them. The new boy stopped when he ran out of extra Legos, and slid it under the couch. He moved it around, and pulled it out slowly, dragging with it the two Lego men Ben had lost.

"You shouldn't cry," He told Ben, handing the two Legos over to him. "When you solve your problems easily."

Ben looked down at the two Lego men, and then set them both up on the roof. "So the astronaut can see space," he said. "And so the astronaut isn't lonely."

The other boy grinned, and somehow Ben found himself grinning back. This kid was weird but it was a nice kind of weird. Better than the weird of the other kids around here. "My name is Ben." He stated. "I like Legos, nachos and dinosaur movies."

"I'm Brendol. I like meatloaf, airplanes and I also like Legos."

* * *

Poe wasn't sobered up enough the next morning to properly comprehend what Ben had brought home the night before. He, Rey and Finn were coming down from their hangovers on the couch, eating pancakes they had bought from MacDonald's and watching a rerun of old cartoons on tv. Ben came out of his room to warm up some formula he had gotten for Alfred, and make himself a bowl of cereal, before retiring back to his room. He didn't come back out until he was sure his cousin had gone home about eleven hours later. There would come a day when he had to face her, and what had happened the last time they had met, but that would not be today. He spent the day in his room with Alfred, tending to his son and reading.

His mother called an hour or so after Rey left. She was quite pleased to announce that she had gotten her son an interview with the professors she had been talking about, in two days time at the university. Ben thanked her, and called Phasma afterwards to see if she could watch Alfred when he went in. It wasn't that he didn't trust Poe to watch his baby, except he didn't. He did not trust Poe with his child. Poe was the guy who had gotten so drunk one evening, he through up in his dog's food bowl. Ben did not trust him with an infant. As well, Poe had to go pick up said dig from the vet that day and would be unable to juggle Alfred and BB-8.

Both days leading up to the interview were rather uneventful. His parents showed up to help set up some more things for Alfred, Han expressed concern when his new grandchild refused to leave Ben's arms and screamed and wailed whenever anyone else so much as touched him, and Leia throughly embarrassed her son in front of Poe by answering almost every question he had about his roommate he asked. At the end of both days though, some take out was ordered and they all say around eating and watching movies, and it almost seemed normal. Well...as normal as life got with this family.

The morning of the day the interview was scheduled, Ben spent every minute of it in the bathroom getting ready. He had showered (twice), blow dried and combed his hair repeatedly, applied so much of Poe's cologne (he personally didn't buy the stuff) that he felt nauseous and repeatedly switched clothing. He came out of the room looking like a million bucks but feeling less than ten cents. Phasma came in, and fed Alfred while her friend worked on perfecting his appearance. Alfred whined a bit, not pleased at the separation from his father, but was somewhat soothed by the food.

"I should be back in a couple of hours," Ben told her, lingering in the doorway for an extra few minutes. "He gets lonely without me, so make sure he knows you're here. Keep talking, and let him listen to your heart." Leaving Alfred was one of the most difficult things he'd ever done. The baby had only been there for a couple of days, but he had spent all of that time in Ben's care. His adoptive father hadn't left him alone for a moment.

"You're going to a job interview, you're not going to war here Benny." Phasma said with an eyeroll. "Drama queen you are."

It felt like he was. This was for a job where there were standards, where you had to get up at a before noon and dress nicely, and weren't half-drunk most of the time. Ben opted to say nothing in response, in hopes of actually making it to the campus on time. He ignored a wolf whistle from Poe on the way out, and went downstairs. Phasma was letting him take her car but it was still blocks away.

* * *

University wasn't what Ben expected. He had imagined sororities, and frat houses, and drunk kids wasting their parents money on a degree that would be useless in five years. He expected the ground to be littered with passed out bodies, crushed beer cans and garbage. Everything was just so...clean and smelled so sanitary, like the inside of a hospital. It burned at his nose, and made Ben briefly wish he was back in the apartment which still reeked of liquor from the last time Finn and Rey were over. The campus was also so empty. At this time of day, no one was outside and it looked like a ghost town. Quiet, wretched smelling, and empty...perfect. Ben never imagined he would ever miss the horrible smell of grease, cum and cheap beer he had been exposed to from working for Hutt, but he was now.

He knew where he was going. South building, second floor, third door down. His mother had repeated the directions multiple times the last time they had spoken and made sure they were drilled into his head. Ben kept his hands in his pockets, and made his way inside and up the stairs. At least he wouldn't be forced into enrolling here like he had feared for the past few years. College, university....Ben just knew it wasn't right for him. He hated high school, hated this style of learning, and knew that tuition money would be wasted in a month. There was simply no point. He got the top of the stairs, passed two doors, and knocked on the third. Faintly he could make our voices on the other side of the door, which grew quieter after he knocked. There was the unmistakable sound of heeled shoes clicking on the floor, and the door creaked open. The man standing on the other side reminded Ben of the villain from the He-Man cartoon he watched as a kid.

First of all the man was bald, with a sunken face that made him look a lot like a rotting skeleton. He was at least four inches taller than Ben with the help of the heels in his shiny, leather shoes, and dressed in a black suit. He was at least forty years older than Ben, mid-sixties perhaps, and his eyes were grim and somber. He looked Ben up and down, with a mild curiosity. "You Organa's kid?" He asked.

"Org-Oh, yes! Um, My name is Ben Solo-" he held his hand out for the man to shake, but it remained untouched and awkwardly left in the air. Ben forced a small smile, and dropped it back at his side. "-Ben Solo and I was informed about an assistant position here..."

The man nodded, "Yes...I have been helping a younger professor settle in here and I'm afraid that my work and schedule has been becoming mixed. I need someone to help smooth that all out." A grin appeared on the old man's face but it sent shivers down Ben's spine. It wasn't a joyful grin, or one of amusement. It was cruel, wicked, something that seemed to radiate evil. "I was expecting a woman."

"Um..." Ben wasn't sure what to make of this. "Excuse me?"

The man shrugged, "Assistants typically are beautiful women. I assumed that Organa had a daughter from the photos I saw...though your hair and face did complicate the matter..." His eyes roamed up and down the younger male, and Ben felt the need to tug at his shirt, and try to cover as much as himself as possible with it. "No matter. You will do just fine. Please come in."

His mother...

Whatever weird feeling Ben was getting from this guy it couldn't be right. His mother wouldn't send him here if there was something for Ben to worry about, something that put him and his family at risk. The man was old, his eye sight had to have been starting to fail him and he had come from s different time. Secretarial work was done mostly by women back then, so a male one would seem off. This was fine...

Ben entered the room and made a bee-line for the nearest chair. He moved quickly, to avoid wasting time and possible moments where he could have been touched. Not that the man would, of course, Ben was just being paranoid again. He had to have been. The older man left the door open, crossed the room, and sat back down at his beautiful oak desk. He pulled out a file from one of the drawers, and started sorting through some of the contents.

"From what your resume says, there are a few...intriguing qualities here that will be useful in this line of work. I am quite set on having you here, Mr...Solo," the man hissed his surname as if it pained him to do such. "Solo...filthy name...I don't suppose you have something else to go by?"

That reaction was common around this part of town. Han Solo had made a name for himself in his youth and decades later, it was still following them around.

"I have an alias, yes." Ben said with a nod. "Kylo Ren..." No one had to know it was a name he made for a character on Dungeons&Dragons when he was eleven....

The man nodded, "Kylo Ren. Yes, I like that. You may address me as Professor Snoke, and once my colleague gets here we can discuss the other aspects of the job."

There were footsteps coming down the hall, heavier than Snoke's, and moving faster. Ben turned his head, and looked back to see just who this genius, prodigal professor of history was. A man, around Kylo's age, entered with his face buried in the pages of a thick, dark blue text book with gold lettering. The newcomer looked up, and locked eyes with Ben. An evil grin spread across his freckled face.

"You!" He announced, thoroughly enjoying the situation presented here before him.

"You!" Ben hissed, venom oozing from that one word.

"Me," The ginger replied, amused by the look of pure hatred disturbing Ben's usual stoic face. "And you. Here."

...Ben started to wonder if this was what the other man had in mind when he first walked into Mr. Hutt's bar and demanded that stupid bottle of beer. If he had known it would end up like this.


	6. Chapter 6

He had the worst luck on the planet. That was the only way Ben could have ever found himself in such a position. The man from the bar was grinning wildly at him, overly amused at his presence in the office. He went and stood behind Professor Snoke's desk, holding his text book close to his chest, and grinning. What was so wonderful about this? It was quite clear he hated Ben's guts. Why was he so damn happy?

Alfred. Think of Alfred. Think of the money. Think of the straight life that you both need. Do it for Alfred...

Ben straightened up in his chair, and folded his hands together in his lap. "Professor, you said something else about the job? Other aspects..." The sooner he heard them, the sooner he could get out of here.

Snoke nodded and slid a form across the desk towards him. "Yes. Ren as an assistant you will be here at eight each day, and leave at five. You will work in my office, and occasionally Hux's as well, booking and fixing our appointments, answering phones, sending faxes, and the work. You will have a strict dress code on the job, will be required to attend staff events, and must restrain from getting involved with fellow employees." Another unsettling grin spread across the elder man's face. "No matter how tempting the urge."

It wasn't. It would never be tempting. Ben would rather have his eyes gouged out than become...involved with Snoke or this Hux guy.

"I think I can manage." He said, and took the form off the desk. "Those terms sound fine."

The form wasn't anything more than a standard one year contract. The position may not be available after s year, so it made sense to only renew it annually. Regardless of how logical that appeared, it still made Ben uneasy. He needed something permanent....

"You start next Monday," Snoke was still going on, drawing out every detail of the position as possible. "Just come right back in here and someone should be awaiting with further instructions. I must say though, Kylo, at risk of sounding unprofessional, I look forward to seeing you around here more often."

Ben bet he did, but said nothing.

Snoke excused himself and left to go attend to some business he had arranged with another professor, leaving Ben and Hux alone. Ben stood up to leave himself, but Hux stopped him.

"This is a far cry from a gay bar." He told him with that wild grin. "I guess I know what happened there though."

"You do, don't you?" Ben replied quite coldly. He had to keep his anger in check. He couldn't afford to take any risks here...

"Just so you know, Kylo, if I ask for you to fetch me a drink sometime in the near future, you must oblige."

"I know." Was all Ben could say.

"And if you so much as mention my frequency at your former place of work to Snoke-"

It was Ben's turn to grin. "Still in the closet, eh? Don't worry, your secret of safe with me...assuming you don't get prissy about what brand of drink I bring you."

He watched with amusement as Hux's face turned red, then turned heel and left the office. Maybe there would be some perks to this job after all....


	7. Chapter 7

__The next couple of months passed without incident. Ben woke up every morning, made sure Alfred was well fed and happy before leaving him with Phasma, and headed off to work as Kylo Ren. He ignored Hux, for the most part, and did whatever Snoke asked of him. Need a coffee? Kylo would get it. Files that should be hidden from the FBI unless you want to be arrested? Kylo's got you covered. Alfred's eyes were healing quite nicely though he had yet to open them. Ben had taken him to physicians regularly, just to ensure the boy's health and safety, and that something hadn't gone wrong. Aside from that, he was gaining weight and was becoming a regular, healthy baby.

On his days off, which were becoming rarer by the weeks, Ben would bundle Alfred up, set him in a stroller he'd gotten from his parents, and go jogging around the park. Alfred seemed to like the fresh air, and would giggle and make happy little sounds whenever they went, but he kept his eyes firmly closed. Ben didn't mind. His son was happy and that was all that mattered.

They left early one morning for a quick, hour long run. It had been warmer than usual, as the winter months fell quickly behind them, and so Ben had left the apartment with no shirt. He still tucked blankets around Alfred, and put a fuzzy little coat on the boy, but he opted out. They ran by the park, empty at such an early time, and for a change, Ben decided to take Ben over to play. He rolled the strolled up to the swings, unbuckled Alfred from his seat and placed him inside the baby-swing. The boy whimpered, unsure of what was going on, but let out a cry of joy when Ben started pushing him. He couldn't have gone half as high as a child could, but it was still the most exciting thrill for the infant. He clapped his hands together and gurgled happily. He was such an easy baby to please.

"Cute kid."

Ben stopped, and looked back over his shoulder to see who was talking to him. A man, one who Ben had never seen before in his life, stood a couple of yards away. He had long wirey hair, and dressed in oversized, faded clothing stained with dirt. Whoever he was, he didn't look friendly. Ben stopped Alfred's swing, lifted him out, and held him close.

"Th-thanks..." He had to remain calm. Odds were he was overreacting. This was probably some old groundskeeper...

"He don't look like you though."

"You don't say..." He wondered if he could make a run for the main road. It was still early and there wouldn't be many cars on the road...but he could find someone to help them couldn't he?

"Hey Jenkins! Didn't you already get a warning about bugging visitors?"

Ben looked back over his shoulder to the park entrance. There stood what could only be described as a hoard of strangers and their children, gathered together like some domestic avengers group, and starring down the man who'd approached him and Alfred. The man, Jenkins, grumbled something, turned and left, leaving Ben with his saviors and their band of kids. Huh. Maybe if the justice league was about a group of parents defending innocent youth and parents at public parks he'd be more interested in the super hero genre. He'd watch the shit out of a show based around that concept!

There were six of them, two women and four men, each ranging in ethnicity but relatively close together in age. They dressed similarly too, in darker colors. It was like they had planned to match. Once Jenkins was gone, they let their children run over to the play equipment all the while keeping a watchful eye. The children varied from toddlers to late elementary school kids, but were more evenly divided in gender. Three girls. Three boys. All of them adorable.

"Umm...thanks for helping out there...I needed it." He said, "Who was that guy?"

"Groundskeeper," One of the men, a shorter, stockier man, with thick brown hair and eyes the lightest shade of blue, said. "Too nosy for his own good. I'm Mike, by the way, and that little hellion hanging off the slide there is my little tot Frankie."

Ben looked back, and tried not to grow pale when he saw the small child hanging from his fingers off the side. Mike laughed, "Yeah he's a daredevil. Falls and breaks something nearly every year. Good thing I'm pre-Med. I can fix his popped shoulder bones and missing teeth in a couple years."

A good plan. One that would pay off in the long run. Ben looked back to the squad that had assembled, and realized they were waiting for him. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's been kinda a stressful morning. My name is Ky-Ben. My name is Ben and this here is Alfred."

After that the other five began spilling their names and stories. Angeline, a tall, thin woman with light mocha skin and eyes as dark as Ben's was a recently divorced banker with an eleven year old son named Trent who she felt was too shy for his own good. Hiro was a recent immigrant from Japan who got a job at a local garage to help support his right year old son Ford from a failed relationship. Lily owned a bookstore, with her adopted daughter Anna. She was really her niece, but her sister had died in a car crash five years ago when Anna was just a baby and she believed that Lily was really her mother. She would tell her the truth one day, when she could handle it. Carlos was a singer and a wanderer before his daughter Margo had been born. Now he played in the public theatre and worked at a grocery store during the day. James was working at a dinner to put himself through culinary school while supporting his toddler Kate after his wife left. They were...an interesting bunch. Wild, and happy, and enjoying their lives with their children. They were so carefree despite most of them living in poorer economic situations or dealing with other problems.

Ben wanted to be one of them. Wanted him and Alfred to be so happy.

They left the park that day with contacts of six different people, each more than willing to provide helpful and effective advice on everything from parenting to how to get that bitch-man Hux off his god damn back. It was going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided this story was severely lacking the Knights of ren so enjoy this single-parent-couple version of them.   
> They drink too much wine, do PTA and watch Oprah all day.


End file.
